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From: crum@alicudi.usc.edu (Gary L. Crum)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: CD-ROM Drives
Message-ID: <33830@usc.edu>
Date: 22 Jun 91 21:51:02 GMT
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Apple's E.T.O. (Esstentials, Tools, Objects) products is a great
example related to this discussion.  It's a large, relative complete
collection of Macintosh development "stuff", including MPW (with
Object Pascal, C, C++ and assembler languages) and MacApp, distributed
quarterly on CD-ROM.  It costs $300 per year for the
four-issues-a-year subscription, plus some initial cost ($700) for
those that don't already have it's major components (like MPW).

E.T.O. is relatively (less than one year old) product.  Also now
available to everyone on CD-ROM from Apple is " d e v e l o p ",
a compilation of Apple Macintosh "stuff" like sample code that
is also available using on-line services like AppleLink and by
anonymous FTP from Apple (Internet host ftp.apple.com).

Anyway, NeXTstep may still be the most accessible and nicely packaged
development environment, since it practically comes with every NeXT
computer (with minor complications due to current storage capacities),
but it's clear that a periodic NeXTstep update on CD-ROM analogous to
E.T.O. is very practical and desirable.  Hopefully NeXTstep will continue
to be part of NeXT system software (or at least part of extended system
software at a ridiculously low price as is currently the case).

Maybe Jobs has secretly secured a deal to introduce a new CD-ROM drive
that offers transfer throughput around 1 MB/s instead of the current
150 KB/s that drives offer, so as to go well with 30 frames/sec
digital video playback at television signal resolution.  Ha :-) No,
that would probably be (or at least perceived to be) a disaster because
the drive would cost a lot.  In any case, more emphasis on CD-ROM by
NeXT seems inevitable.  CD-ROM has _so_ much performance/price
momentum because of the music industry.  Does anyone know if and when
there will be a big NeXT event this fall?

Gary